LA Food Festival opens ancient door to Assyrian culture

Tarzana, CA – Arbella Rasho joined a number of Assyrian youth in Tarzana, California on Sunday, June 10 as she waved an Assyrian flag in front of hundreds of gathered Assyrians at the 17th Annual Assyrian Food Festival. It was the festival’s closing ceremony and she was chanting alongside her father, Los Angeles Assyrian Church of the East (ACOE) St. Mary’s parish priest Father George.

“Don’t let them tell you there is no Assyria, because as long as you are here, you are Assyria,” Father George said to the crowd.

The festival, held on the St. Mary’s church grounds, ran from Saturday, June 9 through Sunday, June 10 and included culture, food, and dancing.

Photo by Atorina Samuel

A popular feature of this year’s festival was “Exhibition Assyria” that walked guests through the history of the Assyrians from their earliest days to the present and included Assyrian inventions, traditional clothing, and genocide history.

A giant replica of the Ishtar Gate surrounded the center stage where singers Martin Yaqoo, Ramsen Sheeno, Salim Lazar, and Romeo Khoshaba performed a variety of old and new Assyrian songs.

On the last day of the festival, Sunday School and youth group members participated in a parade that showcased the Assyrian empire and culture. Young Assyrians dressed in traditional Assyrian clothing and performed multiple dances.

Planning for the festival began as early as September of 2017.

“This year, every booth was Assyrian owned and operated and the church booths were the food, drink, gift shop and the youth booth,” Rasho said.

Photo by St. Mary’s Polos Shamsabadi

The festival began nearly two decades ago and takes place every spring, drawing a large number of Assyrians as well as nearby residents.

“My dad started the festival to bring the Assyrian community together,” Rasho said. “In the beginning years, we actually lost money until we understood and worked through the stuff that wasn’t successful.”

Assyrian James Royel has traveled from Turlock, California every year since 2008 to attend the festival.

His mother Alice is one of the festival’s many vendors. Her booth, Elegant Gifts and Décor, offers a variety of items such as teacup sets, vases, and cake toppers.

“I go to the festival because it is such an amazing experience to be part of,” James said. “You truly feel like you are walking through a museum, except with loud music, amazing traditional food, and Assyrians from all over the state.”

To learn more about the St. Mary’s Assyrian Church of the East Youth Group, visit their Facebook Page

Be the first to commenton "LA Food Festival opens ancient door to Assyrian culture"

Chicago, IL – “I started vlogging to have a more highly produced version of an archive of my life. This year’s vlog of the Assyrian convention is footage from a lot of different things. It’s both the pool parties and something more in-depth and cultural, so a mix of both. I also did a lot of things that doing a vlog for wouldn’t do justice, like the youth summit. You have to be there for that, it’s not the same to see it, you have to be there and interact with people. One day I’m going to look back and have all of these memories nicely produced of what I did at this convention. I encourage everyone to do it.”

Dallas, TX – “Having grown up in the West, one of the positives is that my girls have the ability to empower themselves. For me, raising girls here is similar to raising boys. I’m going to teach them what I know, whether it’s science, engineering, you name it, it doesn’t make a difference to me their gender. There is no glass ceiling from my perspective, I want them to be as successful as they can be.”

Dallas, TX – “I started playing soccer in my village. It was a reason to get together as Assyrians every week. We would play soccer and then go eat or hang out. I eventually played for the Assyrian club in Urmi. When I moved to San Jose, I helped found the Infinite Sports Association. Now in Dallas, it’s funny that there are a lot of empty soccer fields that you don’t get elsewhere. We used to pay a lot of money to get a couple hours to play on this type of field. In San Jose, for two hours we would pay almost $250 and here in Dallas this field is free with beautiful grass, free goals, everything free.”

Dallas, TX – “With motherhood, you first think of all of those happy times of sitting down and playing and going out. But it’s more about giving all of who you are, everything you have, plus more. When you think to yourself, ‘I’ve given everything I have,’ and then they wake up at night one more time and you say, ‘I have to do this again, I have to give more after I’ve already given everything.’ It’s the hardest job and it takes everything out of you, but it’s worth it and you would do it all over again when you see them happy.”

Chicago, IL – “I grew up in a bad country and couldn’t talk about anything, even our flag because you were always scared of the government. A lot of people don’t know how this flag is special for people. That’s why we do this in our yard, because we want people to recognize that if we didn’t have this American flag then we wouldn’t be sitting in this house today. People fought for this flag, for this freedom so we can sit here together and talk about being both Assyrian and American. You lose one of your identities if you don’t.”

Chicago, IL – “I never get tired of traveling because I travel for my people and enjoy accomplishing something for my nation. I also love people watching. That’s why I go to the airport an hour earlier, just to sit around and watch everyone and listen to my podcasts. I love people and I get joyful when I hear them laughing. We need more happiness in the world. We don’t see it anymore. Everyone’s head is down, everyone is looking at their phones, everyone is so intense. There is so much conflict in the world, you don’t see anyone laugh anymore. So when I do see those glimpses of joy and happiness, it makes me so happy.”